I first learned about sublimation in a high school psychology class. Our textbook described it a healthy coping mechanism. It works like this: you feel a negative emotion, so you take your energy and use it to do something constructive.
A classic example: feeling angry about something? Go for a run.
High school was not exactly recent for me, and the fact that this concept stuck in my mind is remarkable. But why not? I’m a writer. Writing can be a valuable form of sublimation.
When I journal, I take a lot of emotions and daily frustrations, and then try to use the information to help myself improve. If I can, I try to use it to write stories to help other people, too.
The name “sublimation” makes sense when you think about its meaning in physics: changing from a solid to a gas, without becoming liquid. When you sublimate, you don’t melt. You rise.
Granted, we can’t be productive, happy-go-lucky people all the time. Sometimes defeat happens and we’re not ready to change that into some wonderful, magical outcome, thank you very much.
Sometimes failure strikes us too hard, or too often, and we can’t pick ourselves up. In that instance, people might need to take a break, or seek counseling, or make a change — basically, whatever they need to.
But for minor setbacks, there’s something to be said for trying to channel our frustrations into improvement. A lot of times, we don’t spend as much time as we should cultivating ourselves. Something isn’t working out the way we forecast it, so we quit.
Sometimes, we quit too soon, when just pushing forward a little more can lead to a drastic improvement.
I see this with my writing a lot. When I’m not hitting my goals, like getting into certain publications, it’s quick to feel the sharp bite of rejection. But rejection may not be personal. It just may be a little ringing bell that says, Look, you need to work harder. Working harder is good for writers when we hone our skills, research more, and reach out to find people to interview.
I spent the last few weeks dealing with a crazy workload with my classes. I asked myself, “Why did I sign myself up for this?” In the past, I’d probably have quit, but I didn’t give myself the option this time. I was going to finish, no question about it. I grabbed my books, started reading them, and took notes.
When you’re defeated, don’t just stop and turn in the other direction. Keep going, and use the energy of frustration to propel you forward. Chances are, you’ll find what you’re looking for if you keep turning over stones. But the trick is, you have to keep turning them.
All Rights Reserved for Ellie Daforge
Productivity Hub 